1. Field of Invention
This invention relates water filtration systems, specifically those which utilize steam power to pump the water which is to be filtered.
2. Description of Prior Art
In recent years the outdoor products market has seen several new water filtration systems come to market in order to provide outdoor enthusiasts with a portable means to filter water from potentially contaminated water sources. Most of those systems are composed of a small, hand operated piston pump which is used to pump contaminated water through a filter element. Most filter elements are composed of highly restrictive materials which physically filter microorganisms and viruses which cannot fit through the small pores in the filter media. Restrictive filter elements are the main reason that water filtering is a very physically strenuous process.
Most of the manufacturers entering this market have created products that were intended to meet the following goals:
i) A filtering system which is lightweight and portable. PA1 ii) A filtering system which minimizes the human effort required to pump water through the filter. PA1 iii) A system which can filter large volumes of water in a short amount of time. PA1 iv) A system which can filter out microorganisms, bacteria, viruses and miscellaneous chemicals. PA1 v) A system which is low cost. PA1 a) A filtering system that is lightweight and portable PA1 b) A filtering system that requires no human effort to pump water through the filter PA1 c) A system that can filter large volumes of water in a short amount of time PA1 d) A system that can filter out microorganisms, bacteria, viruses and miscellaneous chemicals PA1 e) A system that is low cost PA1 f) A system that inherently has the capability to have one of its components used as a pressure cooker PA1 g) A system that inherently has the capability to have one of its components to be used as an air tight food storage container
None of the products currently offered on the market can meet all of these goals. This situation is what inspired the inventors to create the water filtering device described in this patent.
Companies such as Pur, General-Ecology, MSR, Sweetwater, Katadyn and Stearns all offer the classic piston pump water filtering system on the market. Those products generally meet three of the five previously stated goals. The goals that are met are that they are lightweight and portable, most can filter microorganisms, bacteria, viruses and chemicals and most are relatively low cost. The goal of filtering large volumes of water in a short amount of time is highly user dependent. Most of these systems are rated to flow anywhere from 1-1.5 liters/minute but these numbers are dependent on the strength and physical condition of the user. Manually pumping water with these systems is very strenuous and should a user be required to filter a large amount of water, flow rates will drop as muscle fatigue sets in. By their nature these systems cannot meet the goal of reducing the human effort to filter the water as human effort is required to power the pumping system of these devices.
Due to the amount of human effort required of the aforementioned water filtration systems, manufacturers have set out to find solutions to this problem. One device that came from this effort is what is known as a squeeze bottle filter. SafeWater Anywhere is one of the more popular manufacturers of such a device. This device is basically composed of a plastic water bottle having a filter element mounted in its top. To filter water the user simply fills the bottle with water and then either squeezes or sucks water through the filter element. This device generally meets three of the five desired goals. It is lightweight and portable, it minimizes human effort and it is a low cost system. The goal of minimizing human effort only seems to partially met however. This device still requires human effort in the form of squeezing or sucking. It would be very tedious for the user to use this device for filtering large amounts of water for general camping uses such as cooking and making mixed drinks. It does not meet the goal of being able to pump large amounts of water in a short amount of time as it is generally designed for personal water sipping use. It also fails to filter viruses, small bacteria and many chemicals as it uses a less restrictive filter thereby enabling water to be squeezed or sucked from it.
Clearwater is another manufacturer that has made a partially successful attempt to meet all five of the above stated goals. They have created a simple gravity pressurized pumping system which can pump water through a filter element. This system is comprised of a water storage bag and a filter element. With this system the user would fill the storage bag with water and hang it from a tree. The user would then connect a tube from the bag to the filter, thereby allowing gravity to force the stored water through the filter. This system generally meets four of the five desired goals. It is lightweight and portable, it requires no human effort to pump the water through the filter, it can filter microorganisms, bacteria, viruses and chemicals and it is a low cost system. Although no human effort is required to pump the water, it can be rather tedious to hang the water container bag up in a tree. This system does not meet the goal of pumping large volumes of water in a short amount of time as gravity only provides enough work to cause a trickle of water to flow out of the filter element.
One can determine from the previous discussion that up until the invention of the device for which this patent is written, there has been no water filtration system which has met all five of the above stated goals. A thorough patent search has also revealed that there is no system which even remotely resembles the device being patented herein. For these reasons the inventors of this invention do state that to the best of their knowledge that no other water filtering system exists that is similar to or has the same attributes as the water filtration system being patented herein.